I'm only seeing tennis balls these days. And maybe the occasional fashion sketch.

Rain is good for me. I feel like I achieve clarity actually when it rains. The longer I have to sit and wait, the clearer my game becomes to me.

Serena and I, we don't have anything to prove ... we still set a very high standard.

A lot of times when you play... you get this adrenalin that blocks pain.

You learn so much from your parents. We grew up in a home where we were definitely taught to be confident. I definitely give me parents a lot of credit.

I think that Billie (Jean King) and Zina (Garrison), they have a whole lot of experience. Even if I don't quite agree with something or have a different way of doing it this week, whatever they said, I did it right away and I found out that it was correct. I think that's helped a lot...I'm having fun. I had a lot of fun out there. Sometimes I was ready to smile -- but I knew I'd lose focus -- because I was doing things that I'd done in practice and we talked about. I was ready to laugh and give someone a high-five, but it wasn't time for that.

Tennis is mostly mental. Of course, you must have a lot of physical skill, but you can't play tennis well and not be a good thinker. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.